Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The path taken alone can either be one filled with wonder or one that leads to a dark place, one that is filled with promise and the objective of new beginnings or the solitary trail that is hindered by vines, haunting memories and sad reflection, both though lead to a certain desire, one that is unyielding and creatively relentless.

For Graham Nash This Path Tonight represents a new beginning, a new place in which to tread through a forest of memories and to bring the subtly of lingering lyrics to the forefront of the latest journey to be undertaken by this Lancashire man who has made music his life’s passion. It is a passion that has stretched over several decades and one that has never left the very bones of a man who found fame with The Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Reflection, the holding up of a mirror to what has been and all that is behind you, is the theme of This Path Tonight, the sorrow of the silent unspoken soliloquy, of facing the prospect without the past to guide you on further into the forest of life, is one that brings a certain consideration to the listener’s attention. It is the manifestation of the spectres that haunt us that makes this album so rich in feeling, so precious in its emotion and one that asks only belief to be heard; it is belief in one’s own ability that sentiment and truth fight over.

Anguish cannot but be helped to be heard, the rawness of age and the joy of attaining a sense of freedom play out throughout the album and in songs such as Another Broken Heart, Golden Days, Myself At Last and Beneath The Waves, the past is both celebrated and arguably lamented, it is the feeling of seeing what has been as perhaps a knotted bind but also the rope to which your life was saved by.

Graham Nash owes his fans nothing, he has been a true stalwart of British and cross Atlantic music, yet to have him release this solo album at this stage in his career, in his life, is to understand that he still feels obliged and cares enough to deliver such thoughts, such decently produced music.

This Path Tonight might be the one less trampled but it is one that offers the most scintillating of views, an album of beauty.

Ian D. Hall